Netizen 24 POL: Several people injured after stabbings and shots fired in Finland's city of Turku: Reports

Several people injured after stabbings and shots fired in Finland's city of Turku: Reports

Skip to main content A video grab shows officials standing in a street in the Finnish city of Turku where several people were stabbed.Armed police scrambled to Turku as a group said to be armed with blades reportedly stabbed several people.A picture taken with a smartphone shows the Market Square in Turku, Aug 18, 2017.A video grab shows officials standing in a street in the Finnish city of Turku after the incident. Published1 hour agoUpdated13 min ago

HELSINKI (REUTERS/AFP) â" Several people were stabbed in an attack in the Finnish city of Turku on Friday (Aug 18), police said, warning people to stay away from the city as they reinforced security around the country.

Police said they arrested one person after a shootout and had launched a manhunt for other possible attackers.

âPolice shot the suspected perpetrator in the legs,â police wrote on Twitter. âThe person has been arrested. We recommend that people avoid central Turku.â

Police did not confirm the number of victims.

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Public television station Yle reported that central Turku was on lockdown, with witnesses saying they had seen bodies lying on the ground in a busy area of the town. Businesses were shut.

The Turun Sanomat newspaper reported that at least one person was killed in the attack and that police were inspecting departing trains and buses.

< p>âPolice are looking for other possible perpetrators of the crime in Turku,â security forces wrote on Twitter.

âThey ask the population to leave and avoid central Turku.â

The suspectâs motive was as yet unknown, as was the number of victims.

An eyewitness saw four or five ambulances near the cityâs main square, the paper said.

âThe government is closely following the events in Turku and the ongoing police operation. The government will meet later today,â Prime Minister Juha Sipila wrote on his Twitter account.

British newspaper The Sun said there were reports of multiple attackers with knives.

It cited witnesses as saying they heard gunshots and others reported stabbings in the Market Square.

MTV3 television reported that police have raised security at Helsinki airport and at train stations.

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